When it comes to the U.S. battle with ISIS in Iraq, we’ve been told there will be no ground troops – only air strikes. Someone should tell that to the nearly 100 U.S. military ‘advisers’ stationed at a base in Iraq. They engaged in combat with ISIS after the base was attacked.

According to a report by Inquisr:

American troops in Iraq had their first actual battle with ISIS troops after the Islamist militants tried to overrun a base, an encounter that left the ISIS troops decimated and in retreat.

The attack took place near the Ein al-Asad base, which includes close to 100 U.S. military advisers. The U.S. troops, armed with “light and medium weapons,” and were able to inflict casualties against the ISIS fighters, forcing them to retreat, Shafaq News reported. The American troops were also aided by fighter jets, which directed air strikes against the ISIS troops that “silenced their heavy sources of fire.”

“US forces intervened because of ISIS started to come near the base, which they are stationed in so out of self-defense,” said Sheikh Mahmud Nimrawi, a prominent tribal leader.

The incident was the first time that American troops clashed with ISIS forces on the ground in Iraq. For several weeks, the United States has led a series of air strikes against ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria, ones aimed at crippling the militant group’s ability to move about the country and coordinate attacks.

As for the U.S. role at Ein al-Asad, the ‘advisers’ have barely been there a month and were sent to help train Iraqi forces. It would appear they got a pretty good lesson.

In October – one month prior to the arrival of U.S. military ‘advisers’ – the air base was surrounded by ISIS and in grave danger of falling to the terrorist group.